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Lot Essay
“Drawing is a concentration on an essential activity and the credibility of the statement is totally within your hands. It’s the most direct, conscious space in which I work. I can observe my process from beginning to end, and at times sustain a continuous concentration. It’s replenishing. It’s one of the few conditions in which I can understand the source of my work.” (R. Serra as interviewed by Lizzie Borden. First published in Richard Serra, Tekeningen/Drawings, 1971-1977 (Amsterdam: Stedelijk Museum, 1977)
Richard Serra’s 1993 Port Hood I is a striking example of his renowned drawing practice. Informed by his lifelong sculptural exploration of mass, balance and material, Serra’s drawings reveal a sculptural approach to the medium. With his thickly applied medium, Serra gives his powerful lines a sense of weight and permanence not often afforded to works on paper. Using paint stick, and probably placing down several layers, Serra traces and retraces his organic, slightly bowed form, leaving chunks and physical remnants behind as a constant reminder of his presence in the finished work.
As one of the most celebrated artists working today, Serra’s sculptures often feel physically imposing and vaguely threatening. His drawings, especially particularly gestural works like the present lot, manage to translate some of these effects into two dimensions. Like a blacksmith, Serra’s drawing comes from a traditional of patient repetition at the service of a strong, durable finished product. As a result, they feel substantive and imposing, encroaching into the viewer’s space in a way drawings are seldom able to.
Richard Serra’s 1993 Port Hood I is a striking example of his renowned drawing practice. Informed by his lifelong sculptural exploration of mass, balance and material, Serra’s drawings reveal a sculptural approach to the medium. With his thickly applied medium, Serra gives his powerful lines a sense of weight and permanence not often afforded to works on paper. Using paint stick, and probably placing down several layers, Serra traces and retraces his organic, slightly bowed form, leaving chunks and physical remnants behind as a constant reminder of his presence in the finished work.
As one of the most celebrated artists working today, Serra’s sculptures often feel physically imposing and vaguely threatening. His drawings, especially particularly gestural works like the present lot, manage to translate some of these effects into two dimensions. Like a blacksmith, Serra’s drawing comes from a traditional of patient repetition at the service of a strong, durable finished product. As a result, they feel substantive and imposing, encroaching into the viewer’s space in a way drawings are seldom able to.